James Potter Hits Hogwarts
by 8OfClubs
Summary: James Sirius Potter embarks on his own Hogwarts adventure!
1. Farewell

Hello! Welcome to the beginning of what I hope will be my longest story!

In this story I have tried to keep as much as I could to the books ending, though I have changed a few things, mainly the ages of the characters (I know Scorpius is the same age as Albus Potter, in the books, but here he will be James' age), and I have added new characters to be in place of teachers and students.

I hope you enjoy!

I own nothing of the Harry Potter universe.

James Potter looked down at the small girl before him, her tear stained face and heart wrenching sobs nearly broke him, he hated seeing her upset, thankfully it was not a common occurrence. James wrapped his arms around her, putting as much love as he could muster, trying to comfort his sister as best an 11 year old boy could. He wiped the tears from her face. He had just said good bye to his mum and Albus, and knew his goodbye to Lily would be the hardest. He just didn't understand why everyone was so upset. He thought they would have been happy for him, proud even. James was about to embark on his very own adventure, just like his dad, he had been waiting for this day for years, ever since he had first come to understand magic. He could remember the day fondly, even though he had been so young.

At only a few years old his sister, Lily, had dropped her favourite stuffed rabbit toy out of her crib, he had heard her crying seconds before his parents, and summoning the "Gryffindor bravery" his parents, aunts and uncles always joked about he marched his little legs into Lily's room. At first he had tried to throw the rabbit back into her crib for her, but at five years old he did not have the strength or accuracy required. In a moment of frustration he stomped his foot, proclaiming loudly "Mr Rabbit get back to bed!" and with that the rabbit simply floated up into the air, and flew into Lily's awaiting arms. His parents, who had been watching the scene from the doorway had been so proud of him that day, his mum had broken into happy tears, as his dad raised him high up into the air, beaming from ear to ear. Years later he was finally following in the footsteps of his hero, his dad. Today he would be leaving for Hogwarts.

James knew his family would miss him, and he would miss them too, but it wasn't like he was never going to see them again, this wasn't goodbye forever. His dad had even brought him his own owl so he could write to his family as often as he liked. He had promised Lily that he would write to her every week, and that she could use "Bear" to write back to him. James still laughed over his owls name 'Bear', he thought it was the funniest thing in the world. His older cousin as James called him, being too young to really understand the whole godfather thing, Teddy was a close friend and would often be staying at their house. On these occasions James would periodically run around the house and backyard calling "Teddy bear! Teddy bear!" while following his friend around, whenever Teddy got mad at him and told him off, James would act upset and claim that he was simply calling out to both his friend and his owl. His laughing after always gave him away though, and before long his parents had given him a stern talk, James had inturn apologised to his friend, and owl, much to the amusement of his aunt Hermione, but he still thought it was funny, and it always made him giggle when he thought about it.

Saying his final goodbyes to his family until the holidays James went out to the car where his dad was waiting. Originally his family was supposed to be coming with him to see him off, but James had asked his dad if Lily could stay home. He loved his sister dearly, and he felt really bad for asking his dad, but he didn't want to be embarrassed by her, he was going to be a strong and brave Gryffindor after all. His dad had looked at him as if he were disappointed but had agreed in the end, and told James they would be talking about it in the car. Normally a "talk" with his dad made James nervous, but he was far too excited about Hogwarts to really worry about it.

For the second time ever James climbed into the front seat of the car, usually this seat was reserved for his mum, then when she wasn't around the children took turns. James however always gave his turn to Lily, after having his first turn in the front James saw Albus was taking the opportunity of being more or less unsupervised to pick on Lily, and though it only happened once years ago, James vowed to never let anyone upset her, and refused to take that chance, family of not. Father and son now sat in silence for a few minutes as the car drove out of the driveway before they began talking. James knew he was in for a lecture.

'Now James' his dad started, James turned his head slightly towards his dad. James knew this was what his dad said when he needed him to understand something, and knew it was always best to give his dad his full attention.

"while I do not exactly like your reason for wanting Lily to stay home, she is your family and you should never be ashamed of that" James nodded, while fidgeting with his hands, he knew that too and he did plan on apologising to Lily in his first letter to her.

"I do agree that it was best for her to stay at home today" his dad continued "Today we should try to draw as little attention to ourselves as possible, until you get settled in at school" Harry turned briefly to look at his son as he pulled up at some traffic lights.  
"I'm sure you remember all the attention we get when we got out, and I trust you remember why that is" Harry continued giving his son a pointed look. Of course James knew, how could any boy forget that your dad was the only person to ever survive the killing curse, and to have done that twice before putting an end to the most evil wizard of all time.

"While I was at school, everyone wanted to either be my friend, not because they liked me, but because they wanted a taste of the fame, or they wanted to hurt me, as their parents had supported the mad man" Harry refused to say Voldemorts name these days, claiming it was long in the past and no one needed anymore reminders of the loss and destruction he caused.  
"I worry that being my son will initiate similar responses from your peers, and I am very sorry bout that James. Just remember, regardless of all that, Hogwarts was my first home, and I hope one day you will come to think of the castle as your home away from home. Your mother and I, as well as Lily and Albus are always just an owl away if you ever need anything" Harry said, smiling down at his son as they pulled into the Kings Cross station parking lot.

"While we will always be there for you, remember your house, whichever you end up in we will be proud of you, but your house will be like your family while you are away, if you treat them as such they will treat you equally. You can make great friends at Hogwarts, those in your house, and those in others" and with that James found himself wrapped in a tight but brief hug, before the two took his trunk and walked into the station.

As James boarded the train and found a compartment, he waved to his dad standing off to the side, they had still received curious glances, and James suddenly wished he had his whole family there to say goodbye like everyone else, even though he had been the one to ask them to stay behind, he did like the idea of having friends for himself, rather than friends for his dad.


	2. On Board

James sat down in the empty compartment close to the end of the train, looking at the scattering of families waving goodbye to their children. While not being fantastic with numbers, it was clear to him that there were no where near as many people on the platform as he had seen in photos from when his parents were at school. He wondered why, but was interrupted from his thoughts by Bear giving a loud 'hoot' as the train began to pull away from the station. He wished someone would come and sit with him, he had wanted to try and make some friends before he reached the castle, he didn't want to spend the entire ride sitting on his own. James wondered if Teddy and his friends would mind him stopping by for a little while, or maybe he could find some other first years to talk to, but as he started to stand, his compartment door slammed open.

Revealing a smug looking boy, with blond hair, lighter than he had ever seen before, and a girl with darker hair, curled into perfect ringlets. James assumed they were first years like himself, he began to smile and tried to introduce himself, the blond haired boy however beat him to it. Talking in a harsh manner to James.  
"You! Potter! knew I'd find you around here! Just like your father, no one wants to talk to you!" the boy snarled, while the girl stood next to him, clinging to his arm, giggling as if he was the funniest person she had ever met. Thanks to his dads previous warning he immediately knew that these were the sorts of people who had supported the dark wizard his father had previously defeated. He also knew he shoud ignore them, but James had to show his Gryffindor bravery, his loyalty to his family, he had to prove he wasn't ashamed of them.

Standing to his full height, while only marginally taller than the two standing before him, it still made him slightly more intimidating than he had been while sitting down.  
"and who are you?" James asked, pretending to sweep his gaze critically over the boy, acting as if he was beneath him, as the boy had been doing to him.

"I am Scorpius Malfoy, son of Draco and Astoria Malfoy" the boy replied pompously, puffing out his chest, trying to make himself look important, and failing miserably. James began laughing, much to the fury of the other two kids.  
"Son of Malfoy? Don't make me laugh! That no good Death Eater scum! He is in Azkaban, thank merlin!" James scoffed, he knew his dad would be mad at him for talking to anyone like this, but when Ron Weasley is your uncle you tend to pick up on a few things. Language being one of them. The girl crossed her arms angrily.

"Don't talk to him like that! If it wasn't for your no good father Scorpius would actually know his father! It's all your fathers fault!" she said, in what James supposed was meant to be a menacing tone. James simply raised an eye brow at her, trying to ignore the racing of his heart, he didn't want to let his fear show.  
"And what are you? His ickle girlfriend?" James asked, watching as the girl stomped her foot and swished her hair over her shoulder, with what appeared to be a practised eye roll.

"I am Scarlett Boot-Parkinson! Betrothed to Scorpius, though I suppose someone with your upbringing wouldn't know a thing about that" the girl said, acting as dignified as an 11 year old could, before crinkling her nose as if in disgust and walking out of the compartment.

"Watch yourself Potter" Scorpius said over his shoulder, following behind Scarlett, laughing all the way.

James suddenly felt very unsure of himself, what did they mean someone of his upbringing? His parents had raised him well, teaching him to be kind and respectful, though he hadn't really shown that then, maybe that was what they meant? Feeling confused James decided to find Teddy, he always knew what to do, being in his last year of Hogwarts Teddy had learnt so much about the school, and knew a lot about the students.

It didn't take long to find Teddy, he had previously told James that his friends sat at the front of the train, as one of his friends was Head Boy and they wanted to stay close so that he could find them quickly after his meeting. Upon entering the compartment with the older students James saw Teddy with Victoire, one of his other cousins, pulled onto his lap, the couple talking softly with their faces lowered, turned towards each other. They didn't notice James come in, the other two people in the compartment looked up, a girl dressed in Slytherin robes, and a boy wearing Ravenclaw robes, the both smiled at him, the girl saying hello before roughly nudging Teddy with her foot.

If James had not been so distressed he would have found amusement in the way Victoire and Teddy jumped apart, turning bright red in their faces. Teddy quickly regained his composure and instantly saw something was troubling his young friend. Shooting his friends a quick apologetic glance, he soon got the story out of James about his encounter with Malfoy and Boot-Parkinson. The slytherin girl groaned.

"I'm going to end up with those two aren't I?" she asked, before introducing herself as Lotti and offering James a seat beside her. Lotti then explained to James how the war had started, he already knew the story though, but thought it wise to not interrupt the older girl who was just trying to help him. She finished by telling him that some old pureblood families were still stuck in their old ways, but assured James profusely that not all families were like that in todays society. Before long Teddy and his friends began talking about the teachers, James listened intently, knowing only a few staff members as his family didn't know any of the newer teachers other than their friends.

They began by telling him about the potions mistress, Amber Pucey, while she was the head of Slytherin she was apparently a very fair and nice teacher, not at all like the rest of her family, who had been supporters of lord Voldemort during the war. Next was Gideon Hawthorne, according to the Ravenclaw boy, professor Hawthorne had taken over the charms position in their first year, the old professor Flitwick having retired, claiming he could not bare to witness the next generation of students who had all been affected by the war. James was a little saddened by this, after having heard so much about the teacher from his family.

The older students glossed over the subject of Defence Against the Dark Arts, muttering something about a curse and wondering who the new teacher would be this year. James began to zone out slightly, he knew many of the other teachers already, Neville Longbottom was teaching Herbology, Luna Lovegood was teaching care of magical creatures, which was now considered a core subject and would be taught in their first year, Hermione Granger was teaching Muggle studies, Lavendar Brown was teaching Divination, though they were not options until his third year, James was positive he would not be taking either of these subjects. Last but not least, was Colin Creevey, who taught History of Magic twice a week, while Professor Binns taught one lesson a week on ancient history. James though it was incredibly cool that they would have a ghost teacher, Teddy and his friends just laughed, and Lotti even went to ruffle his hair, telling him to wait and see for his lesson.


	3. The Sorting

Before James could believe his eyes, he found himself standing in an antechamber, next to what he was sure was the Great Hall. He was standing next to two muggleborns he had met on the boat ride across the lake to the castle. A girl named Jade and a boy called Lucien. He had enjoyed talking to the two and passing on some information he knew about the school, particularly the sorting process which had the two students a little nervous. But after explaining the simple process he had taken away their worries and he felt that he had successfully made himself two new friends.

There were only about 12 other first years standing with him, it was apparently the smallest year group to ever come to Hogwarts, the Deputy Head Mistress Hermione Granger had told them a few moments before, according to her every year was getting smaller and smaller. She had seemed very sad when talking about it, James was sure that the numbers dropping had something to do with the war, after all, this was the beginning of his parents generation coming to Hogwarts. The first years had been asked to quietly wait a few minutes before the sorting ceremony began, and no one had so much as made a squeak, the silence seemed oddly eerie and uncomfortable in the old castle.

James didn't have to try very hard to distract himself from the discomfort though, he knew soon he would be sorted into his house, hopefully Gryffindor, just like his dad. Thankfully just as he was beginning to grow impatient professor Granger re-entered the room, a bright smile planted on her face, she instructed the group to follow her through to the Great Hall, where the ceremony was to take place, informing them that their names would be called, one at a time where they would be required to take turns wearing the sorting hat.

The walk to the front of the hall was nerve wracking, he could feel the eyes of many students on him, as if burning holes into his skin, James could feel his face heating up and growing red as he heard the buzz of whispers and saw from the corners of his eyes the fingers that were trained on him as he walked by. He barely registered Professor Granger had begun talking again until the hall quietened in time to hear the first name called.

"Bode, Lucien" Professor Grangers voice called out clearly, James gave the boy an encouraging smile as he stumbled up to the stool at the front. His excitement was peaking and he could barely keep himself restrained.  
"Hufflepuff!" the hat bellowed out, resulting in large cheers from the house. Next was Scarlett Boot-Parkinson who after a slight hesitation from the hat, was sent straight to Slytherin. Corey Chambers and Isabelle Dedworth were both sent to Gryffindor, followed by Emerik Derwent and Elena Fowley who both went to Ravenclaw. Tamsin Grey and Callista Krum then went to Hufflepuff, James could instantly hear the house asking if she was related to Viktor Krum, he didn't hear her reply though, as Scorpius Malfoy and his friends Jade Marshall both went to Slytherin. He smiled slightly when he saw Lotti and one of her friends move to sit with Jade.

Jeremy Miller was then sent to Gryffindor, and then it was his turn. James heard his name called, the hall filled once again with noise, and all of a sudden James lost all of his bravery, what if he didn't get in Gryffindor? his knees felt weak as he forced his little legs to move forwards. Merlin, Circe, sorting hat? please let me be Gryffindor James was begging in his head. His worrying and silent prayers were for nothing though, the hat barely touched his head before it called "Gryffindor!"

Cheers erupted from the red and gold house, and James found himself smiling broadly as he took his seat, he honestly had no idea who the last girl to be sorted was, or what house she ended up in, the rest of the feast passed in a blur of luxurious foods, and loud noise and chatter. James had never been happier, he decided. Gryffindor, just like you dad. He found himself thinking as they trekked all the way up to the seventh floor and through the portrait of the fat lady, James had no idea who he had spoken to, or what they had talked about, everything was a buzz as he reached the common room. He knew it was time to write to his dad.

 _I MADE GRYFFINDOR!_

 _Just like you mum and dad!I'm having s much fun, everyone I've met has been very nice, well except from one boy Scorpius Malfoy and a girl Scarlet Boot-Parkinson, theyre betrothed! Can you imagine! At 11, how silly!  
I sat with Teddy and Victoire and their friends on the train and they told me about the teachers and subjects. They have a ghost teacher! Did you know? I thought it was so cool, but they all laughed about it. I don't know why though. I cant wait for classes tomorrow, Teddy said he would help me and my friends find our first class in the morning, and his friend is going to make a map for us! He is Ravenclaw and headboy! he is very smart!_

 _Gryffindor has the most amount of new students this year! Theres not many of us though.._

 _I miss you already,  
say hi to Lily for me  
_ _Love_

 _Love you James._

James scribbled out 'love' then re-wrote it, he didn't want his dad to think he was still ashamed of them, even though he didn't want his housemates to think he was a sissy as a Gryffindor he was meant to be brave.

James soon packed up his things, and sent his letter off with Bear, he watched his owl fly out the window and out across the grounds of Hogwarts, he could not wait to explore the castle and everything around it, he wondered what adventures he would get up to over the years, if they would be anything like his dads, only with slightly less danger, he couldn't wait to see Jade and Lucien, he would love to know what their own houses were like. Saying good night to his two dorm mates Corey and Jeremy, before getting into bed, excited for what would come in the morning.


	4. Of Friendship

The morning came bright and early, James found himself woken from his dreams by his dorm mates rousing him, the two of them not knowing much about Hogwarts were equally as excited as he was, and they had lots of questions. The boys asked him about their classes, how they were supposed to know when and where they were, both happy to know James had a couple of friends willing to help them by taking them to some classes in the mornings, and making them a map to help them in between. They asked him about flying, which they were told they would receive lessons in, as it was one of the main forms of travel, and the only one they could do until their sixth year. Many minutes later the boys made their way into the common room, where the other first year, Isabelle was standing.

As soon as the boys stepped down from the stairs Isabelle walked shyly up to them. The girl seemed very awkward and not very sure of herself, the boys surprisingly quickly realised that she was the only first year Gryffindor girl. James felt incredibly guilty, none of them had spoken to her upon arrival to the common room the previous night, she must have been all on her own since then. James quickly invited her to join them on their way to breakfast. The smile that came to the girls face made James feel giddy inside, and his guilt ebbed away as the group made their way down to the Great Hall. The group talked happily amongst themselves, James and Corey answering Isabelle's questions that the boys had previously asked James.

James however was distracted slightly, he was thinking of the other students, wondering if anyone else had been left lonely last night, he thought of Jade in Slytherin, sure Scarlett was another girl in her house, but somehow he could not see the two of them getting along very well. He was eager to find her quickly, to show her that he would be there as a friend. He sped up his steps, wanting the get to his friend quickly, but not wanting to run, surely there would have been a rule bout running inside.

The group soon came across Jade standing outside of the Great Hall, James noticed the way her face lit up when she saw him, the two greeted each other as old friends, even though they had only spoken together for a few hours, he soon found that his fears were true, upon reaching the Slytherin common room Scarlett and Scorpius had left Jade, and the older students had all retired to their own rooms. Isabelle listened intently to the other young girl, and the two began talking to one another about their shared experience last night. Jade had thrown a very rude look at the group of boys, causing Isabelle to laugh, claiming the boys had more than made up for the night by their actions this morning.

Together the group sat together at the Gryffindor table, feasting on bacon and eggs, toast and whatever else caught the fancy of the group, there were far too many choices for the first years, and they were soon full to the brim. Gryffindors head of house, Professor Longbottom made his way towards their group, smiling.  
"Good morning!" he greeted them, "How was your first night at Hogwarts?" he asked, Corey and Jeremy smiled back at the professor, while the two girls stayed silent. James decided that he needed to say something for the girls, once again drawing on his bravery he began.  
"Professor, I've noticed a problem" he said, all the faces turned towards him.

Taking a deep breath he continued, explaining to his teacher, and parents friend, that as the year group was much smaller, Isabelle had to spend the entire night on his own. Professor Longbottom listened to James thoughtfully, before turning and talking to Jade, he asked her what her experience was in the Slytherin common room. Jade nervously told him of how there were only two other Slytherin first years, and that they were betrothed, and had no inclination to talk to her, even going as far as calling her a dirty mudblood, not that she knew what that meant.

Neville was shocked, he had no idea the first years in Slytherin could be so harsh, he thought that over the years the prejudice had slowly ebbed away, it seemed however that he was wrong, the professor sat in silence for a few minutes, before turning to the two girls.  
"Are you two friends?" he asked Jade and Isabelle. The two girls looked at each other and smiled, explaining they had only met each other this morning, but that they got along well enough over breakfast. Neville gave a nod to the two girls before asking them to accompany him for a few minutes, James watched as the two girls followed him over to the teachers table, were they began talking to Professor Pucey. Turning back to his house table he saw that Corey and Jeremy were talking animatedly about football, while he knew the game fairly well, he was not keen on joining their conversation.

James looked around the table for a moment, everyone else was happily talking and eating their food, everyone seemed to be looking forward to classes, very unlike his muggle school, where he would pretend to be feeling sick to try and get out of going, it never worked though, it was probably the one instance when being in a magical family had its downside, if he was sick, his mum could fix it in just a few minutes, and if he was faking, his mum would know even sooner. James wondered which class he would have first today, he knew it was nearly time as Teddy was making his way over to him and his friends.

"We should be getting our timetables any minute now, I wonder whats taking Professor Longbottom" Teddy said, looking over just in time to see Jade and Isabelle jump up in excitement and wrap their arms around each other, while the professors shook their heads at the display before they made their way back to the table. Within a few minutes James had received his timetable, and learnt that the teachers were going to allow Jade to move into the Gryffindor dormitory with Isabelle, it seemed Malfoy and Boot-Parkinson would soon be moving into their own quarters as a betrothed couple, the professor Longbottom and professor Pucey had both agreed the two girls would be happier with a friend to share the room with.

Looking over their timetables they soon discovered due to the small year group all houses would be taking their classes together, apart from flying class, being once a week, the flying teacher had decided it best to have the classes as small as possible to achieve maximum safety, Gryffindors class was after lunch this very day, while the other houses had theirs at different times during the week while Gryffindor had their study time. James was very excited for this particular class, like his father he hoped to become seeker on the Quidditch team, and knew that this would be his first chance to show his skills. James barely registered his group and himself standing up, nor the walk to his class, the next thing he knew he was sitting in the classroom, next to Jade and Corey, as their teacher walked in.

He introduced himself as Professor Goldstein, proclaiming he was a close friend of 'Harry Potter' James scoffed at this, he had never seen or heard of this man before. The teacher looked at him.  
"Is there a problem Mr..?" the professor began, everyone's eyes turned to him.

"Potter, sir" James responded smugly, taking pleasure in the way the colour drained from the teachers face, the class joined James in a little chuckle, it was clear the teacher hadn't been telling the truth about his friendship with the great Harry Potter. The class began soon after that, the teacher told them they would begin by learning a simple stunning spell "stupefy". The class paired off, and began practicing the spell. No one made much progress at first, and after James had a few attempts he could hear Malfoy snickering.

"Look at this, Potters father apparently beat the dark lord, and he cant even do a simple stunner!" Malfoy called out, laughing loudly with Scarlett and another girl.

"Shove off Malfoy" James spat angrily, he needed to be like his dad, he needed to be strong and powerful. Trying again, again he was unsuccessful. The frustration was nearly unbearable.  
"So your father couldn't do the spell?" Jade asked, staring at Malfoy, placing her hands on her hips, "Cause you sure can't, not everyone can do a spell straight away" she said stepping closer to Malfoy.  
"Shut up mudblood!" Malfoy spat back at her. The tension in the room was suffocating, the group stared daggers at each other, all thinkning of ways they could retaliate.

"Mr Malfoy! Outside now!" Professor Goldstein bellowed, his face hard and angry, if James wasn't so annoyed at Malfoy he would have laughed at him, his face paled further, James didn't think it was even possible, he tried to think of a comeback as Malfoy walked past, but at that moment he heard a sniffle. Turning to look, he noticed a tear running down Jades face. He quickly turned and pulled the girl into his arms. James never enjoyed seeing anyone upset, and while he had only known Jade a little while, he wanted her to enjoy her Hogwarts experience.

"Don't worry about him Jade" he said, trying to comfort the girl, she was slowly becoming more and more upset, she began to confide in James, telling him that she didn't understand what he was calling her, and she didn't know why he had been so rude to her ever since they first met the previous night. With a sigh James began to explain to her all about blood status in the wizarding world, he explained the prejudices among the purebloods. He told her that it meant nothing, there was no difference between anyone with magical powers. Jade on the other hand wasn't quite convinced, so James promised to take her to talk to a friend of his, professor Granger. He told Jade that she was the smartest witch in his dads year, and was his best friend.

Before too much longer he was telling Jade about the adventures his dad got into with his two friends, and soon Jade was laughing along with him, and asked if the two of them could make their own adventures at Hogwarts, James obviously promised. At that moment the teacher entered the room again, and they all continued working on the spell, with Jades new found determination, she and James were among the first to successfully cast the spell, earning them both points for their house. Scorpius on the other hand, did not manage to cast the spell, upon returning to the room he had spent the remainder of the lesson snickering with Scarlett and Colette Zabini, a ravenclaw pureblood, who knew Scorpius and Scarlett before school started.

Jade stuck close to James for the remainder of class and well into lunch, it was time for the Gryffindor first years to go to flying class, while Jade had a study period, she told them all that she would be staying in the library to avoid 'the purebloods' as Malfoy and his friends had been dubbed and promised to save James a seat during transfiguration if she got there before him, giving the girl a quick hug, much to the amusement of Corey and Jeremy the boys rushed out to the Quidditch pitch, Isabelle trailing behind.


	5. Brooms

James was excited, beyond excited, standing between Corey and Jeremy, with a broomstick by his feet, it was nothing compared to his own firebolt, as much as he wished he could use it now, he decided that he should just follow along with what the teacher said, rather than just show off. The teacher was none other than Oliver Wood, James had met him previously as a friend of his dads, he was an excellent player, unfortunately during the war he had sustained a back injury, and could no longer play professionally as he had wished during his youth. Oliver told the students to put their hand over their broom, and command it simply by saying 'up'. James didn't really understand why they were being taught to do this, it didn't make any difference, you wouldn't even normally do this when you were going to fly.

Oliver went on to tell the students that regardless of their flying experience, they would be going over the very basics for the benefit of others, James was well aware that he was the only one with a significant amount of time on a broom, but he didn't mind, he wanted his friends to stay safe, rather than try and fly how he would usually. Together the four students mounted their brooms, and did a simple exercise in which they rose from the ground, flattened out to be parallel with the ground, before sliding back up so they could touch the ground again. It was very easy, but it did allow the others to become accustomed to their brooms, and used to the feeling of being in the air.

Together they did a few more simple exercises before they got to fly around on their own, it was only now that James flew ahead of the class, loving the way the wind blew his hair, enjoying the feeling of freedom that flying always gave him. He took little notice of the others, flying nervously and slowly behind him. Luckily for him, after his dad had come to the school, they changed their rules slightly, and allowed first years to try out for their house teams. James didn't understand the rule himself, if a first year made the team they would have to be a good player, so age didn't really matter, if they weren't good enough to be safe on a broom, there is no way they would actually make it onto the team. The tryouts were coming up this very weekend, and James vowed to be there. He knew he was good enough to be on the team, he had trained with his dad after all, and everyone knew his dad was the youngest player in about a century.

What felt like minutes later, but really was about a half hour, the students were called back to land, to get ready for their next class. James received a lot of praise from the others, they were impressed with his skills, James thanked them and could not stop himself from smiling. Their comments meant more to him than they would ever know. His quest to be like his dad was well on the way, they were affirming his thoughts, and he was sure he would make the team like his dad.

Running off to the changerooms, they quickly changed into their school uniforms before heading towards transfiguration class, James didn't know anything about this teacher, professor Murcia was another new addition to the staff at Hogwarts, he was less interested in this class than the others, but the thought of Jade saving him a seat made it a little better. He didn't want to be late. Leaving Corey and Jeremy behind, James went off in search of the classroom.

He knew the class was somewhere on the second floor, and found in easy to find another first year student to follow into the classroom, it just happened to be Scarlett he followed. Really she was a pretty girl, he thought, it was a shame her beauty was only skin deep. Unlike Jade, he realised, she was also a pretty girl, maybe less so than Scarlett, but she was also a very nice person. She was kind and caring, unfortunately she also cared what people thought, this was making her upset, James could tell, while he wouldn't care what people said about him, she did. He watched from behind as Scarlett walked past Jade, he heard her mutter something under her breath, he was sure he heard the word shoes, as she walked past Jade, he watched as Jade's shoulders slumped, and her face dropped. James didn't know why Jade would care what some girl thought of her shoes, but he could see that it upset her. For some reason. Girls were weird. He decided as he took his seat next to Jade.

Giving her a playful nudge, and a friendly smile, he settled in next to her as they prepared for their class. The class was rather tiresome, the teacher had them taking notes on the laws of transfiguration, James found it very hard to pay attention, and his notes began to become messier and messier as time passed. He couldn't really remember much from the class, there was something about transformations not being permanent, he supposed this meant you shouldn't eat anything that has been transfigured into food, because it would after time change back into whatever it was before. He found himself wondering what something transfigured would taste like, would it taste like what it was originally or would it taste like what it became? he resolved to test this in future, with food of course. He figured if he transfigured something like bread into chocolate it would be safe enough, he just needed to learn how. Suddenly, James was much more interested in the subject, he could turn his vegetables into something delicious, then still get the goodness they provided later. His mum was always going on about how he needed to eat healthy while at Hogwarts.

Stuck in his musings, James found the class progressed very quickly, and before long it was over completely.  
There was only one class left for the day, History of Magic, it was time to see what this ghost teacher was like.


	6. Classes

Hell. That one word was all you needed to sum up History of Magic with professor Binns. The class dragged on and on, James found it hard to fall asleep, now he could understand what Teddy and his friends meant, and why they had been laughing so hard. How the professor could still be teaching was a miracle really, or maybe he was purposefully there to torture the students. James wasn't sure. All he knew was that he was glad he was out of there, and that he needed to talk to uncle George to find a way to get out of future classes.

Dinner had passed without much happening, Jade continued to sit with James during meals, but Corey and Jeremy didn't join them, they were apparently a little upset with James for leaving without them after flying class, James hadn't even thought it was something they would get mad about, Isabelle wasn't annoyed with him for it. James had tried to give them the map that Teddy and his friends had made them as a peace offering, but they had told him not to bother before sitting down further away at the Gryffindor table.

After dinner, James had retired to his dorm room, where he found Bear waiting for him, with a letter from his parents, he excitedly opened it.

 _Dear James,_

 _Congratulations of making Gryffindor! We are all so proud of you.  
We are glad you're having fun and making friends, pay no mind to Malfoy.  
Your dad says its no wonder there are more Gryffindors these days, he says its a lot easier to be brave now that there is no threat. But don't let that affect your happiness over making the house! You are such a brave young man!  
We miss you terribly. Lily sends her love.  
We have also enclosed some owl treats for Bear, keep it up!  
Say hello to Neville, Hermione, Luna and Colin for us all!  
And be good!_

Lots of love, mum and dad.

James read the letter several times, before opening the treats for Bear.

It was great hearing back from his family, he had hoped they would say more though, but it was no matter, he had survived his first full day on his own at school, and James felt like he was on top of the world. Nothing could bring him down. Crawling into bed, he shot a glance at the two empty beds in the room, having not seen his dorm mates after dinner he hadn't had a chance to try and make it up to them, he supposed he would have to try in the morning. But for now, it was time for bed.

The next morning James woke up to an empty room, Corey and Jeremy must have woken early, James thought. Making his way into the common room he saw that most students had already left, it was only Jade sitting there, she had been waiting for him.

"Finally!" she shouted "Class starts soon, I was beginning to worry that id actually missed you and you had already left!" Jade continued. James realised, his room mates hadn't woken early, they had just let him sleep in, wether they did it on purpose hoping he would sleep in and be late for class, or wether they had just thought he would wake on his own, he was not sure. What he did know, was that he had now missed breakfast, and wouldn't get to eat for hours. It was not looking to be a good day.

First up, they had charms, where they learnt the levitation spell, it was quite easy for James, and he was soon making his feather dance around the room, once he had made sure Jade knew the spell. He had tried to help Jeremy and Corey, but they more or less ignored his advice, so James had left them. If they wanted to be mad at him over something so silly, let them, he thought. Instead he turned his attention to Lucien, he hadn't spoken to the boy since the sorting ceremony, he had had an easy time fitting into Hufflepuff, it seemed, he had made friends with a girl named Elena Fowley, who he was currently sitting next to, she seemed nice enough, but James found he didn't have much in common with her, and they struggled to make conversation.

Their second class was care of magical creatures, James greeted Luna and as his parents asked, said hello for them, she began the lesson in her serene tone, and they soon learnt all about unicorns, they learnt about the healing properties in their blood, and how they were hunted into near extinction. She claimed they used to be as common as horses, but now after centuries of hunting there were very few left, according to professor Lovegood they used to dwell in muggle areas, but now they were considered a mythical creature as they were rarely seen anymore. It just so happened that there was a herd living in the forbidden forest.

After an uneventful lunch, where the other two Gryffindor first year boys continued to ignore James, the trio, James, Jade and Isabelle found their way to the greenhouses, were they had double Herbology, Professor Longbottom spent the first lesson going over simple potions ingredients, giving the students and over view of their properties and how they would affect potions. It was a very enlightening class, James never having made a potion before, only ever watching his parents make them on occasion.

Once dinner had ended, the first years made their way all the way up, past the seventh floor, for their astrology class, James wasn't sure what was worse, looking at stars for an hour, or suffering through professor Binns for an hour, both were decidedly boring. James knew that once he had the choice, he would not be continuing either of these classes.

By the time they returned to the common room, James was exhausted, but stayed to talk to the other Gryffindors none the less, if they were supposed to be like a second family, he should probably at least have a conversation with them. He learnt a lot about the others in his house, while they were unsure about having a Slytherin enter their midst, they could understand and were sympathetic towards Jade, none of them wished to spend an entire seven years of school in a dormitory of their own. Some of them thought she should just swap houses and fully be a member of Gryffindor, while assuring James that her house wasn't really an issue. James thought that maybe they were trying to be more accepting of her because she was his friend, and he was Harry Potters son, he wasn't sure, but ultimately decided it didn't matter, as long as they were nice to his friend.

James realised today, that Jade really was his only actual friend at this point, and he didn't want anyone to make her feel unwelcome, he felt protective of her, much like he did with Lily.

The rest of the week passed in a very similar manner, James went to every class, and tried to pay attention, tried to take good notes, as his aunt Hermione had advised on multiple occasions, but as it grew closer to Saturday, it became harder and harder to do, really he was just lucky that the teachers didn't assign homework in the first week.


End file.
